We have seen the value of getting reality feedback from others in order to get a clear picture of ourselves. That is essential. Another feedback mechanism that we need is feedback about ourselves from ourselves. This is our ability to monitor our own thoughts, behaviors, attitudes, feelings, abilities, choices, values, desires, talents, and the like. It is one thing to drive safely when you look in the rearview mirror and there is a policeman. That is external feedback. It is another thing to drive safely when you are out on the road by yourself. That is maturity.

There are a lot of terms for this aspect of human makeup, but psychologists refer to it as the observing ego. Ego means “I,” and observing means to “watch over” or “be attuned to” or “notice.” So, it is the part of me that is watching me. And successful characters who leave the best wakes have a lot of this. They tend to see themselves as they are, and to observe their behavior as it is happening.

I left a strategic-planning retreat recently with a group that I am doing a publishing project with. At the end of the meeting things got a little sour. The problem was that the president of the company who was leading the meeting ran off in his own direction and agenda and left others behind, somewhat pushing his plan through and then talking as if it were everyone’s. I could feel the atmosphere change and had some strong feelings myself about what had happened. Upon leaving, I wanted some time to think about how I was going to respond to what had occurred before talking to him. This was somewhat of a pattern with him, and I wanted to address the bigger picture. He was a good guy and someone I like working with, so resolving it in a good way mattered to me.

But before I got back to him, I received an e-mail that apologized for what had occurred, and that he was aware that he had “thrown cold water” on the meeting, as he put it. We later talked, and he shared his awareness of his tendency to do what he had done that day, and he said he wanted to talk further about it. He saw what he had done before it was mentioned to him. My hope for it not happening again went up. Character that sees itself is usually able to self-correct.

Not only did this incident give me more confidence about our future, it also said something about why this man has risen to the ranks of CEO of a public company and been successful for so many years.

We all have issues, and our weird moments. But we do best when we are able to see them ourselves and correct them.The ability to ask oneself “What am I doing here?” is a compass that will keep things on the right track.

Have you channeled in to your inner leader lately? If not, now is the time to start with Henry's podcast on leadership where you will have the opportunity to discover the best leader you can be. Listen Today!

Vision and engaging talent are intrinsically connected to one another. 

They’re almost the same because without vision, you don’t get full engagement, and engagement really means that someone is all in with their heart, mind, soul and strength. It’s the essence of how they feel, how they think and how they communicate. 

To keep talent engaged, you need to clarify your vision. And when your vision is communicated well, your team will be committed to giving themselves to a higher purpose, because everyone wants to be part of something bigger than themselves. 

In this episode, Shelby Skrhak and Josh Ellis of SUCCESS Magazine talk to us about how a well-defined vision contributes to thriving digital marketing strategies.

Guest Links

Success Magazine

Shelby Skrhak 

Josh Ellis 

Links Mentioned in This Episode

Takeaways from this Episode

1. Produce good social media is content. The worst thing you want to see is someone trying to promote themselves or sell something. People want to connect with others and get information. 

2. Be yourself on social media. Something that brands tend to do, especially leaders, is that they rely on their brand or company to run their social media accounts. People can tell when it’s a brand versus you contributing to it. Be transparent and offer authenticity.

3. Understand the power of your brand. When we identify our biggest fans and learn how we can serve them and what they want, we can deliver our best.

Quotes from Josh and Shelby

Vision is the navigation of where you’re going, and when you’re going somewhere new, you’re going to need driving directions. You need that navigation to get there. 

– Shelby Skrhak

Successful people exhibit genuine interest in helping people, and improving communities and the world around them. They really care about a product because they believe it’s going to help people. Adding value to people is something that will make you successful over and over again.

– Josh Ellis

The most successful people are avid readers. They’re definitely constantly learning. They want to study new things. They want to challenge themselves to new skills and concepts they can open their minds to and get their hands on. 

– Shelby Skrhak

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Every Tuesday we release an this podcast as an entertaining and informative way of sharing practical advice about the fundamental and most needed competencies that every leader must develop. Think of this podcast as an easy way to move a few steps further down the path to realizing your leadership goals.

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There is a leadership concept that I call the wake. One of my favorite things to do is to sit on the aft deck of a boat going across the ocean and just watch the wake. It is such a beautiful, ever-changing creation as the ship continues on its path. You can tell a lot about a ship as you look at its wake.

If it is in a straight line, you get a feeling that the boat is steadily on course, and that the captain is not dozing at the wheel, or that an engine or a shaft is not somehow out of whack. But if it is wavering, you begin to wonder. Also, if it is smooth and flat, you know something about the speed of the boat, and if it is steep, you can tell something about its drag. In other words, what the wake looks like can tell you a lot about the boat itself.

With people, the same thing is true. As a person goes through a company, he or she leaves a wake behind as well. And just as with a boat, there are always two sides to the wake that a leader or someone else leaves when moving through our lives or the life of an organization. The two sides of the wake are:

1. The task
2. The relationships

When a person travels through a few years with an organization, or with a partnership, or any other kind of working association, he leaves a “wake” behind in these two areas, task and relationship: What did he accomplish and how did he deal with people? And we can tell a lot about that person from the nature of the wake.

In terms of the task, what does the wake look like? Is it a wake of goals being reached? Profits being made? New ways of doing things being introduced and perfected? A stronger brand? A stronger reputation for the work and company? Better systems and processes?

Or, is it a different kind of wake? Unreached goals and projections? Misfires? Resources and money lost?

From the wake, which is the real performance and results, we can tell a lot about the person. Results matter. They are the stuff from which we are evaluated and for which we strive to bring our dreams and plans into reality. When we look at results, the wake, we are really looking at ourselves and learning something about our character in the same way that the wake of a ship tells us a lot about the ship.

On the other side of the wake are the relationships. Just as we leave the effects of our work behind in results, we leave the effects of our interactions with people behind in their hearts, minds, and souls. We leave a wake of people behind us as we move through their lives and their organizations. So, we must look out over the transom and ask ourselves, “What does that wake look like?”

 On the people side, just as in the task side, there are results. Are they more trusting after working with us? Are they more fulfilled as people? Have they grown as a result of being associated with you? Did they learn from you and feel lifted up and encouraged? Did your relationship cause them to produce more?

Or, are they wounded? Less trusting? Feeling put down, cheated, or manipulated? Disappointed, let down, or lied to? Are they angry and just waiting for a chance to get even? Do they feel inferior? 

Which wake period are you in? Find out, today by listening to Dr. Cloud's podcast

At the end of the day, we must look back at the wake of our work. The wake is the results we leave behind. And the wake doesn’t lie and it doesn’t care about excuses. It is what it is. No matter what we try to do to explain why, or to justify what the wake is, it still remains. It is what we leave behind that is our record.

 What wake period are you in? Find out by listening to Henry's podcast where he discusses how to grow and learn as a leader. Listen Today!

A lack of boundaries creates problems in the workplace. In consulting for major corporations, I have seen a lack of boundaries as the major problem in many management squabbles If people took responsibility for their own work and set clear limits, most of the problems for which I get consulted would not exist.

Here are three ways applying boundaries can solve some common problems in the workplace.

Problem #1: Getting Saddled with Another Person’s Responsibilities.

Problem #2: Working Too Much Overtime

Problem #3: Misplaced Priorities

Effective workers do two things: they strive to do excellent work, and they spend their time on the most important things.

Work will grow to fill the time you have set aside for it. If a meeting does not have an agenda with time limits, discussion could be endless. Allot time for certain things, and then keep your limits. You will work smarter and like your work more.

Listen to Henry talk about boundaries in the workplace and much more on his brand-new podcast, The Leadership University Podcast. Listen now!

The issues in leadership are pretty much universal, whether you lead a department or a global enterprise. The contexts are different, their complexities are different, but the issues we’re able to relate to practically.

When you talk to people about leadership, everyone has their own idea, or their own confusion about it. I wanted to do something simple and practical, something you can take to work with you tomorrow. So, by analyzing how the brain works, I've broken down leadership in a process of five steps.

Links Mentioned in This Episode

Takeaways from this Episode

Dr. Henry Cloud's 5 Buckets of Leadership

Realize what the desired future is.  It’s the vision, a really clear picture of where it is you want to go, the desired future.

Engage the talent that will get it there. The brain puts a team together. A leader realizes early on that there’s got to be a selection and gathering, and an engagement to pull it off.

Have a strategy or plan and executing that. Execute a plan. How are you going to get there? It gets a plan so it knows how to get from here to there.

Measure how you’re doing. You've got to know where you are in the process and hold yourself accountable to that.

Fix and adapt along the way to what you find. Evaluate where change needs to be made.

Quotes from Dr. Cloud 

Sometimes you’ve got to ask, "Where’s the pain?" And when you being to see that, it gives you a door to walk through. 

Am I result or a cause? Leadership is about a cause. If you're a cause you ask, “What does my vision need today?” If it’s clear, you need to measure it. 

Accountability is about the future. Why are we looking at where we are? So we know if we’re getting there. 

Subscribe to The Leadership University Podcast

Every Tuesday we release an this podcast as an entertaining and informative way of sharing practical advice about the fundamental and most needed competencies that every leader must develop. Think of this podcast as an easy way to move a few steps further down the path to realizing your leadership goals.

Join Dr. Henry Cloud and an exciting new guest expert each week by subscribing to iTunes or checking us out on Sound Cloud.